US blacklists three in push against Islamic State finance

The US Treasury on Friday placed three men it said were part of the Islamic State’s global financial network on its sanctions blacklist, as it seeks to shut down the flow of funds to the group.

The Treasury said Abdulpatta Escalon Abubakar of the Philippines, Yunus Emre Sakarya of Turkey, and Mohamed Mire Ali Yusuf of Somalia all provided financial, material or technological support for the Islamic State group.

Abubakar is alleged to have been instrumental in getting funds to the IS network in the Philippines in 2016 and 2017, handling transfers from IS outside the country. He also helped the group obtain weapons and explosives, the Treasury said.

Abubakar was arrested by Filipino authorities last September after he flew into Manila from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Treasury said Sakarya supplied IS with materials for drones from his Turkey-based company, Profesyoneller Elektronik. The company handled some $500,000 worth of orders for unmanned aerial vehicles and related equipment in 2016, it said.

Mire Ali livestock trading business Liibaan Trading “served as a front for ISIS-aligned groups in the Bari region of Somalia,” the Treasury said.